Sheet-delivery apparatus



No Mbdei.)

J. T. HAWKINS. SHEET DELIVERY APPARATUS.

No. 245,375. Patented Aug. 9,1881

UNITED STATES PATENT heron;

JOHN T. HAWKINS, OF TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

"SHEET-DELIVERY APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 245,375, dated August 9, 1881.

Application filed September 20, 1880.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. HAWKINS, of Taunton, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Delivery Apparatus for Printing-Presses, which improvement is fully set forth and illustrated in the-following specification and accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to that form of fly or sheet-delivery in which the sheet of paper, after having been delivered upon the fly-fingers, is carried by said fingers into a horizontal position in consequence of said fingers describing a considerable are for the purpose of depositing the sheet flat upon a table or fly-board, said are varying in different forms of press from about ninety degrees in those presses in which the fly-fingers receive the sheet in a nearly-vertical position to about one hundred and eighty degrees in those presses in which the sheet is received nearly horizontally and then turned completely over when deposited upon the fly board or table. In all such flies or sheet-deliveries it is desirable to bring the fly-fingers nearly in contact with the table or fly-board, in order to prevent the sheets of paper from floating upon the air after the fly-fiugers are caused to recede from said table, so that the sheets may be piled evenly on the board. It is also at the sametinie equally essential that the fly-fingers should not press forcibly or slam upon the printed sheets as successively discharged and piled upon the table, as such pressure or slamming will produce oftsettingof the ink from the printed side of one sheet to the back of an adjoining sheet.

In most varieties of printing-presses using the above-described form of sheet-delivery the fly-fingers are impelled when describing their arcs of forward progression-that is, toward the fly table or board, with (or without) a sheet upon themby either a spring or weighted levers, the force of which may be adjusted proportionately to the variable air-resistance encountered due to difference in size of sheets de livered, so as not to press upon the pile of sheets with too great force; but, as in printing, it frequently happens that no sheet is delivered to the-fly-flngers during an interval of one or more, revolutions ofv the press, the resistance of each sheet to passage through the air is re- (No model.)

moved from the fly-fin gers when the previouslyadjusted weight or spring urges the fly-fingers over to and upon the pile of papers with such force as to cause said fingers to slam and offset the sheets. In some forms of press, however, means are provided for rendering theflyfingers inoperative when the press is being run for any purpose without the sheets being fed through it, as is very often necessary; but in all such cases the tripping mechanism is rarely competent to prevent at least one excursion of the fly-fingers and their consequent slam upon the pile before said mechanism, comes into action.

The object of this invention is to obviate the above-mentioned undue pressure upon the pile of sheets, and also to invariably prevent slamming of the fly-fingers upon the same when one or more sheets of paper are missed or not I delivered by the fly-fingers.

In order to accomplish these desirable objects, my invention consists of the parts hereinafter described as particularly contributing thereto,andspecifically set forth in the claims; and the distinctive features and. principle underlying the invention may be described as follows: The fly-fingers are urged in their arcof progression toward the fly-board by a positi ve and unadjustable force, so that the extent; and rapidity of such excursion of the fly toward the fly-table shall be thesame whether it has a sheet upon it or not; butit is urged through its return-arc, in which it is invariably with-. out a sheet upon it, and consequently offers a uniform resistance, by means of a spring so arranged as to make its effective tension practically uniform, the fly being prevented from slamming upon its rest or stop on its said return by means of an involute pulley, as hereinafter shown.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a side elevation of thewhole device, showinga part of the side frame, A, the cylinder 0, and flyboardf of a cylinderpress in which the sheet is received uponvthe fly F from the top of the cylinder 0 and deposited upon the fly-boardf by the fly F, describing an are approaching one hundred and eighty degrees, and turning the sheet completely over in its delivery upon the flyboard f. Fig, 2 shows an end elevation of the double involute pulley I t, with its attached parts; and Fig. 3, a similar view of the crank-plate P in section.

In Fig. 2, for the sake of clearness of illustration, the fly-flngers F F are shown in a vertical position, while the doubleinvolute pulley I i is shown in position corresponding to the position of the fingers F F in Fig. 1. For the same reason the crank 19, carrying the roller 1, is shown in the vertical position in Fig. 3.

In the several figures of the drawings like letters refer to the same parts in each figure.

The letter R indicates a rod extending across the press, upon which the free end of the fly rests while receiving the sheet from the cylinder (3.

The crank plate P is actuated by the shaft U so as to make one revolution to each impression. The said plate P carriesa crankpin, 1), having a roller, 1', thereon, which may be adjusted in the slot pfor varying thestroke or amount of motion given to the beltB. The belt B is looped over the crank-pin p, the free ends of the belt extendingto and enwrapping the larger involute, I, of the involuteshaped pulley I t, one end being superimposed upon the other, passing double around the involute I, and secured by a plate and screws, V, one of the free ends of the belt B being slotted, as shown at m, Fig. 2, to permit of the adjustment of its length.

The involute-shaped double pulley I i is secured upon a shalt, W, to which the fly-tingers F F are secured. On the back of the involute pulley I is a smaller involute pulley, t', (shown in dotted lines inFig. 1,) and a wrist-pin, 3 to which is attached a short chain, D. The said chain terminates at its lowerend in a threaded rod, D, engaging a turnbuckle, E, (for adjusting the tension of the spring S,) the lower end ofwhich turn-buckle is attached by a short rod to the helical spring S. The lower end of the said spring is attached toashort link,L, which engages the pin Gr, which pin is situated near the bottom of the press, and, in order to be operated by the foot, is made to project considerably from the side of the short crank T,in which it forms a wrist-pin, the said crank being pivoted upon the stud t secured to the frame of the press. 011 the said short crank T is a stop, u, which prevents the crank from being turned to the right from the position seen in Fig. 1 by the effort of the spring S, the said stop com; ing in contact with the link L when the crank T is in a position a little past the vertical to the right, as seen in Fig. 1, with the pin Gr downward.

The object of using the crank T is that all tension may be removed from the spring S when the press is at rest with the fly F in the position seen in Fig. 1, for it may be required to place the fly F in a position away from the cylinder without moving the press, for purposes requiring access to the cylinder. The operation of thus releasing the fly F from the action of the spring S is momentarily effected by the pressure of the foot upon the long pin G, thereby moving said pin to the left from the position seen in Fig. 1.v The fly, if thus thrown over upon the fly-board, or upon the pile of paper upon said board, will there remain motionless until the spring S be again thrown into action, as described. I

The operation of the invention is as follows: The crank-pin 12 being so adjusted .in the slot 1) that in describing any are, 0, (less than a whole revolution of the crank,) of sufficient length for the necessary throw or vibration of the fly F from the stop R to the tablefand return, (the double belt B during this operation being both unwound and rewound upon the involute pulley I,) said pin, through the remaining are 0 of its revolution, will permit the fly F to remain at rest upon the stop R. During this interval of rest the sheet is delivered by any well-known mechanism from the cylinder 0 to and upon the fly F, the belt B during this time becoming slackened up, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. Upon the arrival of the crank-pin p at the point 2 of its rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow, the belt B becomes again tightened and eifects the delivery motion of the fly over to the fly-board f, whence it returns to its rest or stop, the rod It, (by the means below described,) by which time the crank-pin will have arrived at the point 1 of its revolution, when the belt B again commences to slacken, as before described, and another sheet is received from the cylinder upon the fly F.

In the operation just described of unwinding the belt B from the large involute-shaped pulley I, and thereby throwing the fly forward to effect its delivery, the chain D is necessarily wound upon the small involute-shaped pulley 1', before described, which pulley is so proportioned that the resistance caused by the reaction of the spring S, to which the chain D is attached, remains practically equal at all points of the are described by the fly F. It can now be readily perceived that the return of the fly after its delivery, as just described, will be promptly effected by the reaction or reverse action of the spring S in unwinding the chain D from the small involute pulley i. The large involute pulley I is, however, so proportioned that when the fly F is approaching its rest R near the termination of its return-stroke it shall be eased down upon said rest without violence or noise, said pulley at such time taking up the belt B fast enough to cause the terminal return motion of the fly under the reaction or retraction of the spring S to be very slow.

From the construction of the involute pulley I it is obvious also that the greatest strain is brought upon the belt B by the pull of the crank 12 when the fly is about completing its delivery-stroke; but the yielding character of the increasing pile of paper upon the fly-board and the very slight further travel of the fly after reaching the top of the pile prevent undue pressure upon the pile by the fly. Insert ICC ed in the lower strand of the double belt B is a short spring, S, whose pressure imparts a certain degree of elasticity to the belt under the following conditions of service While the fly F is delivering a sheet of paper to the flyboard f the belt B and the spring S are both under a tension due to the force of the cranks pull upon the belt in moving the sheet upon the fly against the resistance of the air, which resistance rapidly approaches zero when the delivery-throw ot' the fly is about to terminate; hence, said tension being thus removed, the spring contracts. But when the fly reaches the pile of paper upon the fly-board, as the pile increases in height, tension is again brought upon the belt B and spring S by the continued pull of the crank upon the belt B against the slight resistance of the growing pile to the further advance of the fly, which resistance, however, will not be materially greater (owing to the yielding of the pile) than thatjust previously offered by the air to the delivery-passage through it of the sheet upon the fly. Both of said resistances, it will be observed, though offered through a long lever-the fly itselfare opposed by the pull of the crank 12 upon the belt B only through a short lever formed by the minimum radius of the involute pulley 1, hence all strains in practice brought upon the belt B are amply provided for by the clasticity of the spring S, which can yield sufficiently to any ordinary resistance with which the fly may meet and effectually assist in preventing its too great pressure upon the pile of printed sheets.

It is obvious that the double involute pulley I 1' may be separated into two pulleys,each situated at opposite ends of the shaft W, should such change of position in any case be more convenient in the practical operation of the machine. From the construction and operation of the invention as above described, it will beperceived that the velocity ofthe fly in either direction remains unchanged, either with or without a sheet of paper upon it; therefore the fly cannot slam upon the pile of sheets from any failure at any time to receive a sheet upon it, and the pressure exerted by the fly upon the pile of paper upon the fly-board f is so slight, as fully explained, as to be insufficient to cause offsetting of ink from one sheet to another.

Having thus fully described my said improvement in sheetdelivery apparatus for printing-presses as of myinvention, I claim 1. In a printing-press adapted to operate the fly thereof, the combination of the following-named elements: an inv-olute-shaped pulley or pulleys, a looped belt. acrank, areturnin g-sprin g, and chain orband, all arranged and operating substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a printing-press, secured to a fly-shaft or frame, reversed involute-shaped pulleys, respectively provided with an enwrapping belt, strap, or chain, by means of whose reciprocal winding and unwinding said pulleys are operated, therebyimpartin g angular motion in opposite directions to said fly-shaft, substantially as andv for the purposes set forth.

3. In a printing-press, in combination with an involute-shaped pulley, I, secured to afly shaft or frame, as described, a looped belt, B, and crank 19 operating said pulley, substan tially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a printing-press, in combination with an involute-sha-ped pulley, i, secured to a fly shaft or frame, as described, a spring, S, operating said pulley by means of an interposed chain, cord, or band, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a printing-press, secured to a fly shaft or frame, an involute-shaped pulley and an enwrapping looped belt, provided with an extension-spring, in combination with means to unwind said belt from said pulley, whereby angular motion is imparted to said fly-shaft in but one direction, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a printing-press,a returning-spring, S, adapted to operate a fly shaft or frame, as described,in combination with areleasing-crank, '1, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In aprinting press, in combination with a fly shaft or frame having secured thereon in volute-shapcd pulleys I i, a looped adjustable belt, B, connected to a crank, 19, a returningspring, S, a chain or band, D, and a releasingcrank,T, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN T. HAWKINS.

Witnesses:

HORATIO 0. KING, R. FRANCIS WHEELER. 

